Liverpool Part 2 -- Settling In

[Allan Bell]

16 hours ago, Lisa said:

I have an Infomir box to see all BBC and ITV channels. It is expensive and only available outside of the UK, so not a good recommendation for Eddo. I like the show "Pointless". 

 

 

 

I always have to laugh at "Pointless" when they have the celebrity edition.

 

"Pointless celebrities"   EXACTLY.🤣

 

Allan

 

Edited December 13, 2019 by Allan Bell

[Thyrsis]

 

This amazing machine has pride of place in our lounge. We were playing "Me and Bobby McGee on it just last night.

 

'Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose'.....seems very apt at the moment!

[Robert M Estall]

"Me and Bobby McGee" The hitch hikers anthym. takes me back a long way. Don't know I'ld feel safe doing all that travelling these days, but many of us just did it back then. Ran out of rides as the sun fell in the middle of nowhere in New Zealand once and had to sleep under a bush, that's about the worst I can recall. There's nothing which wriggles or crawls & bites in NZ so not too worrying. Well, there's mosquitoes up north but that's not where I was

Edited December 13, 2019 by Robert M Estall

[John Mitchell]

4 hours ago, Robert M Estall said:

"Me and Bobby McGee" The hitch hikers anthym. takes me back a long way. Don't know I'ld feel safe doing all that travelling these days, but many of us just did it back then. Ran out of rides as the sun fell in the middle of nowhere in New Zealand once and had to sleep under a bush, that's about the worst I can recall. There's nothing which wriggles or crawls & bites in NZ so not too worrying. Well, there's mosquitoes up north but that's not where I was

 

I hitched across Canada (Montreal to Vancouver and vice versa) several times back in the late 60s during my Jack Kerouac stage. Once I got stranded in northern Ontario in November and turned into a snowman standing by the side of the highway. Slept in more than a few city parks and on beaches under the stars. I also hitchhiked up and down both the east and west coasts of North America. I had some memorable and sometimes scary rides, especially in the US. It was an adventure that I certainly wouldn't want to repeat these days.

[Betty LaRue]

9 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Country don't get no better than these guys. 

Agreed.

[John Mitchell]

25 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Agreed.

 

Long live Willie.

[MDM]

7 hours ago, Thyrsis said:

 

This amazing machine has pride of place in our lounge. We were playing "Me and Bobby McGee on it just last night.

 

'Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose'.....seems very apt at the moment!

 

And nothin ain't worth nothin but it's free - 

 

There are some great interviews in Episode 4 of the show with Kris K and Fred Foster, the guy who produced it and gave Kris the title in the first place - it was supposed to be me and Bobby McKee but Kris misheard it. He wrote the whole thing but inlcuded Fred as a cowriter simply for giving him the title. Next episode tonight with Emmy Lou Harris among others

 

28 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Long live Willie.

 

And Waylon, Gram Parsons, Hank Williams, Jimmy Rodgers and all those who got lost along the way but their music lives on. 

[MDM]

18 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

All of those names are familiar because I’ve listened to country music all of my life.  There was a time my mother, sister, brother-in-law and I performed at small-town clubs and meetings. My brother-in-law played the guitar and he and all of us sang. George Jones was a favorite country singer of mine, and nobody sings like Willie Nelson. I love him. He was on the Country Music awards recently with a woman singer, and he seemed confused. One day, we’ll hear that he’s passed. A decade or two ago, he played concerts, many open-air, to raise money for farmers in trouble.

If you get a chance to ever hear his original recording of “Angel Flying too Close to the Ground”, listen. There is some outstanding guitar riffs in it. Of course, Dolly Pardon’s “I Will Always Love You” is special. I could name a 100 favorite singers and songs easily. Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” is another. Kris is a songwriter supreme, with a voice that sometimes is rough and wobbles. I think that’s why I love his unique style that he never felt was good enough.

Betty

edited to add:

I grew up in Oklahoma, the state that suffered so much during the dust bowl. My grandmother lived through it.  Grapes of Wrath was written about it. While things have changed since then, the people, for the most part, are “down home” folks that would give you the shirt off their backs. These are the kinds of people country music was written about. When the Oklahoma City bombing happened, it turned cold and rainy a couple of days later. Rescuers from out of state didn’t have warm footwear. It was mentioned on TV, and one common working man drove up to a barricade and pulled the work boots off his feet and handed them over.

Yes I love George Jones as well (and Tammy) both featured in the Ken Burns series. And Kris Kristofferson, WIille Nelson and the list goes on. The lyrics are universal really which is why these people are loved all over the world. I mentioned to you before a while back that American country music has always been incredibly popular in Ireland going back to the 50s and 60s and part of the reason is that the people had very similar backgrounds - big rural populations and people scraping a living off the land. Another reason I think for the Irish love of country music is that the music itself has a lot of its roots in Irish and Scottish music. 

 

 

The social life in rural Ireland in the 50s and 60s even into the mid-70s was based around the dance halls which was the only place where men and women would meet for romance. The music was provided by what they called showbands - professional musicians who would play everything from rock n' roll, pop and of course country and western as it was called back then. The showbands would have a lead singer, guitars, bass, drums and always a brass section which distinguished them from pop music groups. I used to love going to these dances as a teenager - memories of youthful romance to the sounds of Heartaches by the Number, Walk the Line and even Okie from Muscogee. 😀

 

 

[Thyrsis]

I love the way Ed’s threads (great name for a blog) go off on a tangent within hours. Much more interesting than the ‘death of stock as we know it’ threads!

 

[Ed Rooney]

24 minutes ago, Thyrsis said:

I love the way Ed’s threads (great name for a blog) go off on a tangent within hours. Much more interesting than the ‘death of stock as we know it’ threads!

 

 

Teehee! 😎

[Betty LaRue]

6 hours ago, Thyrsis said:

I love the way Ed’s threads (great name for a blog) go off on a tangent within hours. Much more interesting than the ‘death of stock as we know it’ threads!

 

Somehow Ed opens these threads up and they just take off! Kind of like the whisper game...tell somebody next to you a secret or one line phrase. They whisper it to the next person quickly..then to the next...by the time it goes around the end story is nothing like the original.

Soooo, Ed...what have you done about watching tv shows, movies, or whatever? 

Betty

Besides, it’s Bryan’s fault. He mentioned country music, thus providing the fuel for the rocket, lol.

Edited December 14, 2019 by Betty LaRue

[Ed Rooney]

On 12/12/2019 at 12:08, NYCat said:

Our public libraries here have DVDs to borrow. How about there?

 

Paulette

 

Took a walk over to the main library on this busy, pre-Christmas Saturday. They have everything I might want to borrow -- DVD films and games; CDs; virtual, paper, and spoken books; computers for me to use, and work spaces to use my own MacBook. All I have to do is join. I will need to buy a CD player. First I'll try some trial runs on Amazon Prime, Hulu and such. 

[NYCat]

Hooray for libraries. Mine is the Jefferson Market library with an amazing building that I always take out-of-town friends to see. Stained glass windows, curving staircase, lovely, lovely. And it is so easy nowadays to order a book online.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Market_Library  So glad you have a good library there.

 

Paulette

 

 

[Allan Bell]

Yes libraries are good. Remember being introduced to out local library back in the early 50's. No high tech stuff then just books, magazines and newspapers. I started reading Biggles books by W.E. Johns. Read quite a few and probably all the volumes they had at the time. I think that is why I never went into the RAF or became a pilot.😎

 

Allan

 

Morphing again.

 

ITMA

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by Allan Bell

[John Mitchell]

58 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Took a walk over to the main library on this busy, pre-Christmas Saturday. They have everything I might want to borrow -- DVD films and games; CDs; virtual, paper, and spoken books; computers for me to use, and work spaces to use my own MacBook. All I have to do is join. I will need to buy a CD player. First I'll try some trial runs on Amazon Prime, Hulu and such. 

 

Yesterday, I checked out a DVD of a movie that I've been wanting to see for awhile (The Mule with Clint Eastwood) at my local library. I plan on watching it tonight. Thank goodness for libraries.

[Colblimp]

15 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Somehow Ed opens these threads up and they just take off!

That's because Ed is a genuine legend. 😎

[Ed Rooney]

Paulette, the Jefferson is one of the notable landmark buildings of Greenwich Village. Lucky you to have it as your local library. I used the one on the North end of Mulberry Street. 

 

I watched a free film on YouTube this evening, The November Man with Pierce Brosnan. It wasn't bad and I had no problem with the streaming. I suppose most of you would hate watching a film on a 13" MacBook screen but I've gotten used to accepting the limits of my new life; I'm reading a novel on my iPhone. (teehee)

 

Edo

 

[Thyrsis]

4 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 I'm reading a novel on my iPhone. (teehee)

 

Edo

 

 

So the next novel you should read is “All  the light we cannot see” by Anthony Doerr. Amazing story set in WW2 France and Germany.

Edited December 15, 2019 by Thyrsis

[Betty LaRue]

I have a Kindle paperwhite e-reader. I joined Bookbub (free) put in what kinds of books I like (thrillers, police procedurals, mysteries mostly) and have book offers waiting on my phone or iPad email every day. I choose one and it downloads to my kindle. Some are free, others cost .99 to 2.99, and the big-time authors more. I mostly get the free ones. Occasionally pay .99 or 1.99, then a couple of times a year I spring for a regular priced one from my favorite authors like James Patterson, John Connally or Patricia Cornwall among others.

 

I’ve been a voracious reader since I was 8 years old, starting with the Black Beauty and Anne of Green Gables books. Every library trip, I checked out the maximum allowed.

Whats nice about the kindle is I take it with me to read in waiting rooms, trips, etc. instead of taking 5 paperbacks on vacation, I have a hundred or two books on my thin, packable Kindle, just waiting for me. If I start a book and don’t like it, I just choose another from my Kindle library. Beats paying $8 or more for a paperback, considering I was buying 8-10 a month before getting the Kindle. What I’ve saved buying books had paid for the a kindle 30 times over. Probably more. I’ve always preferred the printed page, but hey.  One must adapt, as we all did to digital cameras.

Betty

ps...the kindle paperwhite is on sale on Amazon for $99.00. I just ordered one for my son for Christmas. Don’t know about across the pond.

 

Edited December 15, 2019 by Betty LaRue

[Ed Rooney]

I have BookBub too, Betty. And I had a Kindle Paperwhite in NYC. My Mini iPad is a little too heavy and awkward to read in bed on. My first book was Kipling's Jungle Book. I am not a fast reader. 

[John Morrison]

8 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Whats nice about the kindle is I take it with me to read in waiting rooms, trips, etc. instead of taking 5 paperbacks on vacation, I have a hundred or two books on my thin, packable Kindle, just waiting for me. If I start a book and don’t like it, I just choose another from my Kindle library. Beats paying $8 or more for a paperback, considering I was buying 8-10 a month before getting the Kindle. What I’ve saved buying books had paid for the a kindle 30 times over. Probably more. I’ve always preferred the printed page, but hey.  One must adapt, as we all did to digital cameras.

 

Kindle Paperwhite for me too. I bought it when I was living in my camper-van... to avoid turning the van into a mobile library. Books are heavy!

 

I can read one-handed, and the backlit screen is very easy on the eyes...

[Ed Rooney]

"I can read one-handed, and the backlit screen is very easy on the eyes..."

 

You have that right, John. 

[John Mitchell]

10 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

I have BookBub too, Betty. And I had a Kindle Paperwhite in NYC. My Mini iPad is a little too heavy and awkward to read in bed on. My first book was Kipling's Jungle Book. I am not a fast reader. 

 

I'm a big fan of slow reading. It can take me ages to finish a novel (the paper variety). However, I'm somewhat alarmed at how digital technology is turning us into skimmers. Interesting article here on this subject.

[Betty LaRue]

16 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

I'm a big fan of slow reading. It can take me ages to finish a novel (the paper variety). However, I'm somewhat alarmed at how digital technology is turning us into skimmers. Interesting article here on this subject.

I’m not a skimmer. I delve into a book on my e-reader and mourn when I’ve finished it. When in elementary school, I remember my teacher assigning the class to read a book and do a report on a former American president. I checked out 4 books, read them all, each and every word, and chose to report on the one I fancied most.  
I recently got from BookBub a 6 book series once released one at a time, which forced you to buy the next. My offer came free with all 6 episodes. I was immersed in them for a long time, and absolutely hated it when I was finally done. Then I loaned the set to my sister, who reacted as I did.

The series was called “End Times” by Shane Carrow. There are the dead who come back to life, (zombies) not usually my cup of tea. A bit of sci-fi. But it is character driven with the main characters overcoming extreme odds, and that’s what made it so good. And I don’t usually read books where teens are the protagonists (twin 18 yr olds), like this series. Yet there are plenty of adult characters, fleshed out.
So basically, the series sent up several red flags about why I shouldn’t like the premise.
I’m so glad I ignored them.
Betty

[John Mitchell]

54 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

I’m not a skimmer. I delve into a book on my e-reader and mourn when I’ve finished it. When in elementary school, I remember my teacher assigning the class to read a book and do a report on a former American president. I checked out 4 books, read them all, each and every word, and chose to report on the one I fancied most.  
I recently got from BookBub a 6 book series once released one at a time, which forced you to buy the next. My offer came free with all 6 episodes. I was immersed in them for a long time, and absolutely hated it when I was finally done. Then I loaned the set to my sister, who reacted as I did.

The series was called “End Times” by Shane Carrow. There are the dead who come back to life, (zombies) not usually my cup of tea. A bit of sci-fi. But it is character driven with the main characters overcoming extreme odds, and that’s what made it so good. And I don’t usually read books where teens are the protagonists (twin 18 yr olds), like this series. Yet there are plenty of adult characters, fleshed out.
So basically, the series sent up several red flags about why I shouldn’t like the premise.
I’m so glad I ignored them.
Betty

 

I'm much more of a skimmer than I used to be -- not with novels, though, unless I find them boring. My attention span, which admittedly wasn't that great to begin with, has definitely gotten worse in the digital age. However, I feel lucky to have grown up in the pre-digital world. I tutor high school students in my other part-time "retirement job", and their attention spans tend to be abysmal. A certain amount of skimming has become a necessity given the mass of information and disinformation that we are now inundated with every day. That said, I think that we have to be aware of how using all this remarkable digital technology is changing our brains, and not always for the better.  It seems that adaption requires some critical thinking.